Introduction

 It has been fifteen years since Mother and the Infinite Black almost eradicated humanity.

Cities were left as smoking ruins, parts of the earth became iced over, and entire nations were turned into lifeless wastelands, displaced scattered survivors begin banding together.  Humans, who weren’t taken by the machine world, scattered into the remaining forests, hiding in secluded places untouched by technology.  The great machine portal has now closed, and civilisation has been slowly rebuilding.

But how does humanity recover from devastation on such a global scale, the answer is, one day at a time. Life is simpler now, but desperate, survivors do what they can to stay alive, communications and travel can still be limited, apart from a few boats that bravely cross waterways trading supplies, people now congregate in small townships called Groves.  Crime is on the rise. The use of scavenging and repurposing of Mother-Machine technologies happens with extreme caution, so far without any machine reprisals. There are no longer any 3am snatcher raids, sentinel attacks, or disturbances. But they have left their mark on the fabric of society, every time something mechanical is activated, it elicits a kind if trauma response from those present, inside, every survivor still feels like Mother is watching, especially since some strange tales recently began to spread through the new colonies.

As fear of the Infinite Black begins to subside, the power and reach of four criminal syndicates is on the rise. However, hope is growing from the ashes, hope that the people who are now nationless, can rebuild and eventually begin to heal as one new global community.